So there is the real story.......

Thanks that is the kind of useless trivia I live for....and I am being 100% serious I am a useless information junkie

Charles Shaw rocks!

I had one bottle per day.

I think it's a win-win deal between TJ's and Charles Shaw. I always buy some other pricy (supposedly organic) stuff in addition to a case of charles shaw.

TJs has been selling the $1.99 Shaws for well over a year now. Last year, they sold about $90 million worth of the Shaw wines. The 300,000+ case/year pace should keep going as long as the wine glut continues and the quality stays high.

And yes, the newer Hyundais are a thrifty jewel.

freeme was me under my old name

top ten in no particular order

Parducci Cab/Merlot and Zin

Toasted head Merlot

Gallo of Sonoma Cabernet

San Fabiano 1999 Chianti or '00

De Loach 1999 California Zinfandel

Jacobs Creek Shiraz

Robert Mondavi Woodbridge Cabernet Sauvignon

Concha Y Toro Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon

Fetzer Barrel Select Zinfandel

Ridge Sonoma County Zinfandel

Healdsburg Viticultural Society Mourvedre

Ferrari-Carano Cabernet Sauvignon

Just a few from my short list

If you drink any Please let me know what you think

Serge, LL, MikeW and I get together every couple months for a differnt sampling over dinner.

Mike just finished his cellar. Maybe i can get him to post the picks


:Graucho

I have 5 bottles of '89 bordeax takeing up space there soon

:thumbsup

LOL!!!

Busy, yeah. And gone all the time it seems. Out to LA later in the week and straight to Van from there...

maybe you can pop in for lunch with Tony and I ?????



Awesome list I just printed it it is my new you can fancy wine guy on a reasonable budget list.....

Oh and 12 clicks.....cheap wine comes with a cap that screws on

good wine comes at a good price with a good taste....not that our Two Buck Chuck hits that note....but close

If I cannot tell the difference between $30 and $300...Im putting the other $270.00 on the table

There are several TOP wine producers in Napa coming out with screw tops i hear

No shit...they have done studies and no difference

and with the shortage of cork many have gone to the hard plastic "corks"

I cannot imagine the screw top catching on.......not doubting that focus groups...and millions have been spent on consumer adoption...I just cannot see the snootybergs having a screw on bottle with dinner

My Fav Cabernet:

http://www.tablewine.com/images/cab-htz.jpg

Hey lens is that from Sav-on...we have one right down the street I may go grab a bottle on the way home.......

I tell you what you.... fed ex that one and I will fed ex you a whole case of two buck chuck

I had an idea....it would be fun to have a small wine tasting event for the gig in Nov in Santa Monica....Hmmmm has me thinking

some nice hor D'vors....some nice cigars.....Martinis

50 bottles of two buck Chuck!!!!

Gee, and who's the last guy in this biz to serve it to you?

In no particular order wines that stand out in my memory or currently reside in my cellar are:

Heitz Cabernet
Cakebread Cabernet
Joseph Phelps Cabernet
Opus One
Chateau Soutard (1998)
Calon Segur
Lafite Rothschild
Chateau Margaux
Henry Bonneau Chateauneuf du Pape 1996 (must breath for 2 hours)
Mouton, Latour, Haut Brion any year from the 80s

97 Opus One was one of the tastiest bottles I've ever had. Don't know if the good company contributed to it but The ability of this wine to taste like the finest Bordeaux while being made in Cali, is awesome.

And not having tasted 2 buck chuck, I promise to pick it out of a crowd of its betters. :thumbsup

And not having tasted 2 buck chuck, I promise to pick it out of a crowd of its betters. :thumbsup [/B][/QUOTE]

We should havwe a taste off at a gathering of sorts i would be very interested and eager to learn the differences.

JH

I admit nothing!

Hietz ROCKS!!!!

lens have you ever been to the vineyard

amazing place

:thumbsup

Its easy to find an Exceptional Expensive wine from Known vineyards

Finding the Obscure is more of a challenge

this one is just plain EXCELLENT!

I got the bottle from Ken Lawson once for Xmass and still keep the cork of it on my desk!

this vintage is devine!

97,98 is not anywhere close

Yes, and the challenge is how much bad wine can your palate stand while looking for a good one. :1orglaugh

I prefer to distinguish the best from the very good.
Besides, no one is calling phelps, calon, or soutard exceptional or expensive.:thumbsup

Two-Buck Chuck is O.K. -- I wouldn't say that it is/was ever worth $30/bottle though. Like someone else said - maybe $8 a bottle.

TJ's has a pretty decent wine selection... try Forest Hill merlot. That's one of my favorites over there and it's like $5 a bottle. :helpme

Drop me an email, I'll be in the office all day on Friday, maybe you guys can pop over to the Marina? Otherwise I dont know the weekend schedule yet, but we could probably manage something :)

Hmmm, some of my favorites, in no particular order...

Seven Deadly Zins
Cain Five
Jarvis Cab
Jordan Cab
97,96,95 Kenwood Artist Series (mmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!)
Kenwood Jack London
Diamond Creek Volcanic (nearly impossible to find the best years any more since they make so little)
Diamond Creek Gravelly Meadow
Concannon
Heitz

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh :thumbsup

Oh man, how'd I not get in on this thread earlier! :thumbsup

Got 2 cases of 2 Buck Chuck (1 Cab, 1 Merlot) in the basement right now. Constantly hitting TJs to refresh it. Agreed, it's about an $8-10 bottle (easily competitive with Gallo Sonoma or most of your typical grocery store labels), but I feel a helluva lot better about cracking a $2 bottle 5 days a week instead of a $10 bottle nearly that often...

Now, in some sorta remote order, here's something of a top ten from me from recent years. Some more obscure than others...

* '97 BV George LaTour Cab (pricey, but amazing)
* '94 Opus (how can you go wrong?)
* Green and Red Chiles Mill Zin (I think I had the 95, but it's pretty consistently great)
* Just about any Ravenswood Zin you wanna try
* '98 Justin Isoceles (again, pricey, but worth it)
* '95 Guenoc Langtry (meritage - wow)
* Grgich Hills Chard (best mainstream chard I've found)
* '98 St. Supery Sauvi Blanc (cheapish and great, but be careful - had a couple bottles that smelled of cat piss)
* '97 Qupe Syrah (Santa Barbara - worth hunting for)
* Niebaum-Coppola Rubicon (intense, but great payoff)

Jim - Gotta follow up on your idea of getting a tasting party going out here in LA. Gotta assume there are way too many wannabe wine snobs around here to have some fun... :thumbsup

* Niebaum-Coppola Rubicon (intense, but great payoff)

-------------------------------

:thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup

and the Vineyard is Truely Amazzing

i love that place

Trader Joes is privately worried that people are buying too much Charles Shaw. Many customers pick up a few cases because it's cheap and they fear the deal will soon disappear.

This is a problem because the wine is made to drink now (at least within the next few years). 90%+ of all wines made today are meant to be consumed within 3-5 years max (less for most whites). People who hoard a large backstock will be in for a surprise a few years down the line. Shaw is not going to improve with age. It's almost a given that people will try to return whole cases in the future, claiming that it's somehow "gone bad." Duh.

You know....the november event would be a good time to do this....

I would suggest a place over in Santa Monica....(The Buffalo Club would be high on my list) where we have cards that list the favorite, and then have to guess the price.

The highest point total wins a prize package of sorts....sponsors can donate a few bottles...etc...etc

That would be nice...Great Idea Jim! I second his suggestion ;)

Isabel

And now we havw a quorum ;)

I just realized it!

I'm the other woman! you cock!

it was 96 trailside too. I wasted my best years on you :waaaaahh

Do we think "want some cheese with that wine" party would go over....

sounds like fun

Have some Frank, Dean, Tom Jones etc.

cigar balcony

Martinis

I think we should put it together....no rap acts....no sushi on naked chicks (this time)...just booze, tunes, and a mellow evening....

who is in?????

How about this?????

The Hustler club will be opened in Beverly Hills by then...... we could shuttle people over...have a whole section for the wine snobbery etc.....

Darren...Jimmy...Bruce...Ken .....I think this could work...